Gold, Silver and the Bronze.
by Ligeia
Summary: Postcards from the Edge of the Hellmouth 2.Giles is concerned about Buffy’s reluctance to take on the duties of the Chosen One. Julia meets Angel at the Bronze. Episode tie-in: Welcome to the Hellmouth. Timeframe has been expanded to fit the extra actio


Disclaimer: The characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, Sandollar, David Greenwalt Productions, 20th Century Fox and whoever else may have a hold upon them. I do not mean to infringe upon any copyrights. Julia Devereaux is my own creation.  
  
Postcards From the Edge of the Hellmouth Part Two: Gold, Silver and the Bronze by Ligeia.  
  
Part One: Gold.  
  
Rupert Giles was worried - worried and angry. He had been in Sunnydale for over a month now and the Slayer had not yet turned up. Three more young men had disappeared in the last week. The Council of Watchers seemed unconcerned and he had been told not to attempt any contact with the Summers family until they arrived in town. Julia Devereaux, his assistant Watcher, sat behind the front desk cataloguing the last dozen or so of the occult volumes they had brought with them from England. She looked up from the computer keyboard from time to time to watch Giles as he continued to pace back and forth across the wooden floor of the small library.  
  
Julia's run-in with two vampires in a deserted playground a couple of weeks before had unsettled them both more than either wanted to admit. Never one to baulk at a good 'I told you so', Giles had been so upset by the incident that Julia was afraid he would insist she return to London and had decided not to mentioned the figure she had glimpsed that night watching from the shadows.  
  
'Will you look at this news report,' Giles grumbled, slapping a folded copy of the local newspaper on the counter top in front of Julia. The headline, which he had outlined, read 'Local Boys Still Missing'.  
  
'I have seen it, Rupert,' she said mildly. 'Why don't you try to calm down. There's nothing we can do right now.' Julia paused, 'Unless .'  
  
Giles spun around. 'There is no possibility, absolutely none, that you are going out there again on your own.' Taking a deep breath, he continued more quietly. 'I should never have allowed you to put yourself in danger in the first place. Vampire hunting is definitely not your function here.'  
  
'Well, why don't you help me put these books away then?' Julia stood up and stepped around the counter to hand Giles a stack of dusty volumes. Picking up another armful from the pile, she led the way up the steps to the bookcases at the rear of the library behind which stood a glass cabinet containing all of the occult reference books. As they placed the books in their correct order in the new cabinet, Giles looked silently at Julia.  
  
'What?' she asked, noticing his puzzled stare.  
  
'I notice you're not wearing your glasses any more,' he replied. 'I was just remembering how cute you looked the first time I saw you.' Giles smiled for the first time in days. 'You were in the Reading Room at the Old Bodleian Library at Oxford, looking through a 12th century grimoire from their Rare Books Collection, as I recall. The reading table was so high and the book so large that you had to stand up and lean over to read it! You wore those rimless half-lenses and they kept slipping down to the end of your nose!'  
  
'Yes, I remember,' Julia laughed softly. 'We were the only two people in the Reading Room but you still found an excuse to sit beside me at my table.'  
  
'It was not an excuse,' Giles grinned. 'I really did need to refer to that grimoire! So, do you wear contact lenses now?'  
  
'Ah, no,' Julia said, turning back to the bookshelves. 'I . ah . I don't need them any more. I've . um . had the condition corrected.'  
  
'Laser surgery, then?'  
  
'Pardon?'  
  
'Have you had corrective surgery?' Giles persisted.  
  
'Something like that,' she replied, curtly. Actually, it's nothing at all like that, Julia thought. Thankfully, she was saved from further explanations by the sound of the library's double doors opening.  
  
'Hello?' came a voice. 'Is anybody here?'  
  
'I think you have a customer, Rupert.'  
  
Giles hurried off to attend to the female student who was looking at the newspaper that had been left on the front desk. Tapping the girl on the shoulder he said, 'Can I help you?' As the blonde teenager turned around Julia recognised her from the photographs in the file; it was Buffy Summers. At last!  
  
'I was looking for some . well . books,' she said brightly. 'I'm new!'  
  
'Miss Summers?' Giles asked.  
  
'Good call,' Buffy replied, looking a little confused. 'Guess I'm the only new kid, huh?'  
  
'I'm Mr Giles, the librarian,' Giles continued. 'I was told you were coming.'  
  
'Great!' she said, even more confused. 'So, I'm going to need 'Perspectives on Twentieth Century .'  
  
'I know what you're after!' Giles interrupted. Moving behind the counter, he selected a huge 18th century brass-bound leather volume boldly displaying the title 'Vampyr' on the cover. He thumped it down on the counter-top in front of the girl.  
  
'That's not what I'm looking for . ' Buffy's smile disappeared as she took a step back from the counter.  
  
Oh, Rupert! thought Julia, just take it easy! Don't come on so strong. You'll scare her off!  
  
'Are you sure?' Now Giles was confused.  
  
'I'm way sure!' Buffy, looking slightly horrified, continued to back away.  
  
'My mistake.' Giles was puzzled. Isn't this what she's here for? he thought. Putting the book back down behind the counter, he continued, 'So, what was it you said .' But it was too late; Buffy had already left.  
  
Julia stepped down from the shelving area. Walking across to Giles, she slipped her arm through his. He was completely baffled.  
  
'What just happened here?' he asked. 'I have a Slayer who's not interested in vampires! What am I supposed to do now?'  
  
'Relax, Rupert, she'll be back. Don't forget, Buffy's had very little preparation for the circumstances she now finds herself in. With Merrick gone, she's had several weeks on her own to think it over. A life of vampire slaying isn't exactly an attractive proposition for a sixteen year old girl, you know.' Julia patted Giles's arm comfortingly. 'She's probably hoping that if she ignores it, it'll all go away. Just give her time.'  
  
Giles removed his glasses. Taking out his handkerchief, he gave the lenses a good polish. 'Unfortunately,' he remarked, 'time is a luxury we don't have.'  
  
*****  
  
The events of that afternoon proved Giles's observation to be all too accurate. Another teenage boy had been found dead, this time in the girls' locker room.  
  
Julia returned home retrieve a couple of volumes on the Hellmouth phenomenon that she had requested be forwarded to her from the Council of Watchers' Central Library in London. Her personal weapons collection and several crates full of rare books, which she had yet to unpack, had been imported under the Council's diplomatic status. While she sat on the floor sorting through the books the telephone rang. It was Giles calling to say that Buffy had returned to the library after the discovery of the boy's corpse to confirm that she definitely did not intend to get involved.  
  
'Julia,' Giles said, 'I need you to come back now and talk to Buffy. She must be convinced that she plays a pivotal role in this situation!'  
  
'Rupert, you really will have to handle this yourself,' Julia said. 'If Buffy is to trust you as her Watcher, to depend on your judgement, you need to develop that relationship from the outset.' There was silence on the other end of the line. 'Why don't you talk to her after school?' Julia suggested. 'Most of the kids seem to hang around that nightclub in town, the Bronze. If she's looking to fit in and make new friends, she'll probably go there.'  
  
*****  
  
After dropping the books off at the school library, Julia returned home again to the small stone-fronted bungalow she had purchased on her arrival in Sunnydale. It had come up for sale only a few days before, the previous owner, an elderly lady, having recently passed away. Sunnydale's real estate market was not exactly booming, so the interstate vendors, the old lady's son and daughter-in-law, were very keen to make a quick sale. It had the potential to be a lovely little residence, a two-storey place with a charming stone feature wall in the living room, fireplaces there and in the main bedroom and a stone porch on three sides. Not that Julia expected to have many guests. Less attractive was the present décor; the walls were a different pastel shade in every room, the kitchen and bathroom were hopelessly outdated and the garden had not been maintained in years. The clincher, as far as Julia was concerned, was that the house was situated on almost three acres of land near the edge of town. Privacy was an important factor. With the kind of work she did, Julia couldn't have the neighbours observing her activities too closely.  
  
Heading upstairs, Julia grabbed a bottle of aspirin from the bathroom. She had moved in only two days ago and the place was not yet furnished. Lying down on a mattress on the bedroom floor, Julia took two capsules and covered her eyes with a forearm. Giles was right to be worried. Things weren't going well at all. She had felt an increasing sense of unease since coming to Sunnydale just three weeks ago. Maybe it's the proximity to the Hellmouth, she thought. Driving across the city limits in the green MGB vintage soft-top she had picked up in L.A., seeing the decades-old sign which read 'Welcome to Sunnydale - Enjoy your stay,' Julia had the weirdest sensation that she had just entered the twilight zone. She had almost expected the sign to read 'Welcome to Sunnydale - Home of the Hellmouth.'  
  
Beside the makeshift bed among the clutter of discarded clothes and half- emptied cardboard boxes was a small leather-covered jewel case. Julia rolled onto her side and opened up the box, taking out a small 18th century gold, ruby and pearl cross that had been handed down to her by her adored Irish grandmother. It was one of the few personal things she always kept with her on her travels. Switching on the bedside lamp that stood on the floor by the mattress, she held the precious heirloom by its chain, the light throwing a huge swaying image of the cross against the far wall. Julia sighed. I hope Giles has better luck tonight in persuading Buffy to accept her duties as the Slayer, she thought. Otherwise, we're all going to be in very deep shit.  
  
*****  
  
Part Two: Silver.  
  
Far from going well, the night had ended with Buffy prematurely encountering, and dispatching, several vampires. As if that wasn't complication enough, two other students from the school, Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris, had become aware that Buffy was the Slayer. Worst of all was that they now wanted to help.  
  
This involvement by outsiders was unprecedented, but then very little seemed to be going as expected with the new Chosen One. She was proving to be quite a handful, headstrong and outspoken, but also remarkably capable. Julia couldn't help but feel a grudging admiration for the girl. Merrick had been right after all; Buffy was exceptional. Giles and Julia spent several hours discussing the options before finally concluding that it was best to keep Willow and Xander close, maybe even let them help out with the research side of things. At least that way they could be protected to some extent and Willow's outstanding computer skills were definitely a bonus.  
  
Buffy had received a few injuries during the night's skirmishes and still nursed a painful elbow as Giles gave the group a short history of the Hellmouth. Julia noticed a small silver cross around Buffy's neck that she had not been wearing the day before.  
  
As the meeting broke up, Julia walked over to Buffy, taking the cross in her hand. It tingled warmly against her fingertips. 'This is pretty; it looks like solid silver. Where did you get it?'  
  
'From Mr Giles's friend,' Buffy answered. Julia looked across at Giles who shrugged. 'You know,' Buffy continued, 'the tall, broody guy who followed me on the way to the Bronze last night and told me about this Harvest thingie.'  
  
'Buffy, Giles and I are the only members of the Watchers Council here right now. We don't have any other contacts in Sunnydale, or in California for that matter; certainly no-one who would know about the Hellmouth, or the Harvest.' The stranger's reference to the supernatural occurrence known as the Harvest had been very disturbing. Julia was currently searching for references to the phenomenon and what she had found so far was extremely alarming. Giles was still working on a possible timeframe for the event.  
  
Buffy's description of the young man prompted Julia to speculate on whether he might have been the same person who had observed her encounter with the two vampires a fortnight ago.  
  
'I think it'd be wise for you to stay home this evening, Buffy, and let that arm heal. I'll check out the Bronze tonight.' Julia looked over at Giles who gave her one of his tight-lipped, disapproving stares. 'I'll see if I can find out a bit more about this mystery man of yours.'  
  
*****  
  
Part Three: The Bronze.  
  
Julia sat at a small table in a dark corner on the upper level of the Bronze, taking an occasional mouthful of the red wine she had been nursing for the past half-hour. She looked around again at the young man leaning over the mezzanine rail, staring down into the crowd of kids below. Buffy had said the man she encountered the previous night was tall, dark and good- looking. Unfortunately, that description would apply to dozens of young college guys hanging out at the Bronze on any given night. But this fellow was acting strangely. He had been stalking about the place for over an hour, looking for someone but trying not to look too obvious about it. Dressed all in black, he certainly fit the description - about six feet one, broad-shouldered, handsome in a brooding sort of way with dark brown hair and pale, almost luminous skin.  
  
He had been up on the mezzanine for over half an hour now, going downstairs to the bar just once where he ordered a whisky on the rocks. He had posted himself along the rail, gazing down into the crowd of students and their friends sitting at tables or dancing below. He had spoken to no-one other than to ask for his drink, obviously not here to dance, or to drink for that matter. He balanced the whisky glass in long well-shaped hands, constantly swirling the watery contents, the ice having long-since melted without him taking so much as a sip.  
  
He looked the most likely candidate. Here goes nothing, Julia thought to herself. Standing up, she smoothed her black dress with one hand, picked up her red wine with the other and moved closer to the quiet young man. Walking up to the guard rail she leaned over it, standing almost shoulder to shoulder with him. Leaning both elbows on the topmost rail and holding her wine glass over the void in both hands, Julia mirrored the young man's relaxed stance.  
  
She looked to her right, casually appraising his classical profile, and spoke. 'Something wrong with your drink?' He looked at her with dark, almost black eyes but didn't comment. 'You've been nursing that whisky for twenty minutes and haven't touched a drop.' Julia noticed he wore a white gold claddagh ring shaped like a pair of hands holding a heart with a crown above it.  
  
This time he answered, his voice deep and slow. 'It's not really my usual "tipple".'  
  
'Perhaps you'd prefer something in a full-bodied red?' Julia raised her own glass to him, smiling slightly.  
  
'Maybe, but not right now.' He moved away, looking back down into the crowd beneath. Julia turned around so her back was to the rail. 'She's not coming, you know.'  
  
The young man looked surprised. 'Who?' he asked.  
  
'Buffy.'  
  
'I don't know any "Buffy",' he replied, turning away again.  
  
'Let me refresh your memory. Petit blue-eyed blonde, athletic - smart mouthed? You followed her from her house last night and gave her a little silver cross.'  
  
'Oh yeah,' he grinned, turning to face Julia again. 'Now it's coming back. So her name's Buffy? How . quaint.'  
  
'Why were you following her?'  
  
'Who are you, anyway? A friend of hers?'  
  
'I work at Buffy's school.'  
  
'Oh, a teacher.' Julia didn't bother to correct him. If he recognised her from the incident at the playground, he wasn't acknowledging it. 'What's it to you anyway?'  
  
'Well, I tend to get a little concerned when a sixteen year old girl is approached in the street by an older man and given a gift of jewellery.'  
  
'Older man, huh?' He gave a short laugh. 'Well, I guess I am that! There was no harm done and, besides, it's not really any of your business, is it?' With this he stepped away from the rail, downed the whisky in a single swallow, turning the glass top-down on the nearest table and strode off into the crowd.  
  
Julia watched his back as he moved through the nearest group of patrons then said, softly but clearly, 'Anything that affects the Slayer is my business.'  
  
Angel stopped, allowing the crowd to flow around him. He turned his head, looking over his shoulder, and stared directly into Julia's dark green eyes. He turned around, never taking his eyes from hers and walked back towards her, his face expressionless, unreadable. He grasped the rails either side of Julia as she leaned back, his face just inches from hers. Her heartbeat thudded loudly in her ears. With some effort she controlled her breathing and held his dark gaze.  
  
'So who are you really? Her Watcher? A member of the Council? What?' His voice was low and menacing, the arrogant smile completely gone.  
  
Julia managed to keep her own voice steady. 'That isn't important,' she said. 'You told Buffy you were a friend. Exactly what does that mean?'  
  
He pulled back a little, considering his response. 'You've heard the phrase "The enemy of my enemy is my friend?" I guess I'm that kind of friend.'  
  
'So you're here to . what? Hunt vampires?' Julia scanned his eyes and face for a hint of reaction.  
  
'Maybe,' he said quietly. 'If the ones I'm looking for are here.'  
  
'And then what? Once your enemies are gone, will that leave you as friend or foe?'  
  
'Well,' he said softly, the slow smile returning, 'I guess time will tell.'  
  
Just then the band came on stage on the floor below and the crowd burst into cheers. Julia looked down at the stage for a moment then turned back to find the young man had disappeared.  
  
Where the hell did he go so fast? she thought, setting her glass down on the table beside her. Damn! I didn't even ask him what his name was!  
  
*****  
  
Diary entry, undated:  
  
'Well, that was an interesting dialogue. Unfortunately, I'm no closer to any answers. Who is this guy? Some kind of solitary vampire hunter? Someone who has lost loved ones and is looking for revenge. Maybe even a vampire himself?'  
  
Julia looked up from her diary and sighed. She sat cross-legged on a folded blanket on the bare living room floor under the glare of a naked light bulb. The remains of a take-away meal was scattered around her; a drinking glass beside her doubled as a vase for a mixed bunch of roses she had gathered from the tangle of old rose bushes in the front yard. A vampire? That last thought had come unbidden - from where? He certainly had the intensity, the sense of power held in check, that seemed to be the hallmark of many vampires she had known. Not that it was conclusive evidence. Julia looked across at the uncurtained French doors leading outside; her own reflection seemed equally mystified. Well, whoever or whatever he is, he certainly bears watching, she thought. Which, considering his good looks, shouldn't prove too much of a burden.  
  
***** Finis ***** 


End file.
